In recent years, the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires have posed significant challenges for winemakers and grape growers. One of the most pressing issues is the impact of smoke exposure on grapes, which can lead to undesirable flavors and aromas in the resulting wines. This document aims to provide winemakers and grape growers with a general understanding of their options for evaluating smoke-tainted grapes. “With localized testing now available at ETS, a winemaker can make more informed decisions on whether to harvest the grapes or write them off,” says General Manager Kyle Crowley of VA Filtration USA.

By exploring various assessment methods and mitigation strategies, the industry can make informed decisions to ensure the quality and marketability of their wines despite the challenges posed by smoke exposure.

Pre-Harvest:

• Pull grape (berries) samples to test before harvesting all your grapes for fermentation production.
• ETS offers an excellent smoke panel that is extremely informative in showing the extent of the smoke impact in the fruit. Follow these protocols where possible.
• Collect as few as 200-250 grapes (60mL - berries) of each sample you provide to ETS. Make sure you choose berries across the vineyard area being tested.
• Run the full smoke panel.
• ETS also offers a very nice process protocol for gathering grapes post-harvest.
• Review the test results
• The full smoke panel will indicate the extent of the smoke impact in the form of the most relevant glycosidated markers.  Relying on just guaiacol is not advisable.  Based on the full panel, VAF can give an excellent indication of what is treatable based on previous experience.
• Depending on the level of smoke impact, the price for treatment will vary between $0.50/gallon (light smoke) to $2.50/gallon (heavy smoke).
• Armed with an understanding of how your grapes can be treated, you may decide not to harvest the grapes for production.
• If you have decided that your grapes are worth saving, consider one more step - a micro-fermentation to test your grapes further through the alternative fermentation process – run the labs again.  
• Protocol for a microferment should be different from your normal processes, making sure there is minimal skin contact.
• Send this fermented juice to ETS for testing.
• These test figures would then be sent to VA Filtration for a quote to fix and or repair the affected wine.
• With the microferments complete, choose your best method for fermenting the wine.
• We advise fermenting your wine with as little skin contact as possible.
• After primary and secondary fermentations are complete, store the wine in a neutral vessel (oak barrels are not advisable).
• For optimal results, store the wine for several months before treatment.

After primary and secondary fermentation:

• VA Filtration offers two methods for smoke-taint remediation, each with its own advantages.
• DARCProâ„  – VA Filtrations’ proprietary system is found to be most effective (cost and finished wine quality) at mid-to-lower levels of smoke-taint.
• The DARCProâ„  system can clean the wine with minimal stripping of the most essential phenolic components of the wine.
• amaea VPx – Also provided here at VA Filtration, uses MIPs or molecular filtration, to selectively remove volatile phenols as high as 30-50ppm.
• It is recommended that the wine be filtered through a 5-micron filter before using the MIPs process.

In Review:

• Test the grapes for viability.
• Run a trial microferment.
• Send the ETS analysis to VAF for treatment options and to determine if the wine is worth making and/or if it can be salvaged.
• Get a quote to determine if you want to harvest and process the grapes.
• Ferment your grapes with as little skin contact as possible.
• Be patient by waiting to treat your wine.

VA Filtration USA
125 Gateway Road E., Ste. D
Napa, CA 94558 – 707-552-2616 – www.VAFiltration.com
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